Engineer Mountain | |
Elevation Ft: | 12968 |
Prominence Ft: | 1408 |
Isolation Mi: | 4.74 |
Isolation Ref: | [1] |
Parent Peak: | Rolling Mountain (13,693 ft) |
Part Type: | Protected area |
Part: | San Juan National Forest |
Country: | United States |
State: | Colorado |
Region: | San Juan |
Region Type: | County |
Range: | Rocky Mountains San Juan Mountains |
Map: | Colorado#USA |
Label Position: | bottom |
Coordinates: | 37.6992°N -107.8067°W |
Topo: | USGS Engineer Mountain |
Rock: | Quartz trachyte, Cutler Formation[2] |
Age: | Tertiary |
Easiest Route: | scramble Northeast Ridge |
Engineer Mountain is a 12968feet mountain summit located in San Juan County, Colorado, United States.[3] It is part of the San Juan Mountains range which is a subset of the Rocky Mountains, and is west of the Continental Divide. Engineer Mountain is a prominent landmark set 1.5 mile immediately west of Coal Bank Pass, and is visible from multiple viewpoints along Highway 550, making it one of the most photographed mountains in the San Juans.[4] It is situated 11 miles southwest of the community of Silverton, on land managed by San Juan National Forest. Topographic relief is significant as the southwest aspect rises 3800abbr=offNaNabbr=off above Cascade Creek in approximately two miles. Neighbors include Snowdon Peak seven miles to the east, and Twilight Peak, five miles to the southeast.
According to the Köppen climate classification system, Engineer Mountain is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with long, cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers.[5] Due to its altitude, it receives precipitation all year, as snow in winter, and as thunderstorms in summer, with a dry period in late spring. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into tributaries of the Animas River.